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The owner of British Gas has raised fears of a dividend cut after warning investors that profits will take a hit in the first half of the year.

The home energy giant blamed the Government’s energy tariff cap, warm weather and falling natural gas prices for a “challenging” environment in the first four months of the year, as it lost another 234,000 UK household customers.

The FTSE 100 company said these factors, including a £70m one-off hit from the energy price cap, would mean lower profits in the first half and further pressure on its full-year outlook, despite swinging job cuts to help improve its efficiency.

The embattled energy company assured investors that its guidance on operating cash...